Less Than Zero

Rating:
Summary: Life in the carpool lane
Review: this book was just ok. i wouldn't recommend it to anyone, that's for sure. i'm sick of reading books about drugs and sex and all that crap. there's no passion in drugs. i'm looking for something a bit more.

Rating:
Summary: a great book
Review: this was the 4th Ellis book I read and I really wish i read it first. It will help prepare readers who are not used to Ellis's work get used to his writting style. I read Rules of Attraction first which was easy to understand but afterwards I read Glamorama which is a tough book if you are not used to his work and the Informers makes A LOT more sence if you read it after Less Than Zero. This was a very good book that showed how shallow some people are and how even people with "great lives" have some terrible times

Rating:
Summary: Sidney Sheldon For The Next Generation
Review: Ellis has written a very light, easily readable novel with lots of "shocking" sex scenes and one-dimensional characters. He owes a huge debt to the likes of Sidney Sheldon ("The Other Side of Midnight"), Jackie Collins and their ilk. It's a simple formula: people love to read about the seamy side of the lives of the rich and famous. The same audience that devours Us magazine will be enthralled by this tale of rich LA teens and their debauchery. Set it in say, an upscale suburb of San Francisco or Boston, and suddenly the novel loses its allure- we're willing to belive certain things about Los Angeles because of its association with the entertainment industry. Reading the book is like watching a car wreck. Or Britney Spears, for that matter, We're shocked that these kids sleep with each other- regardless of sex (GASP)- that they become prostitutes- are ignored by their wealthy parents- indulge in drugs- and our seemingly intelligent narrator seems to take it all in stride. And like Sheldon and Collins, that is the allure- a look into a world most of us will never see. Reading LTZ for any perceived literary value is like claiming to read Playboy for the articles.

Rating:
Summary: Less Than Perfect?
Review: Having read 'American Psycho' and 'Rules of Attraction' and being very familiar with Ellis' writing, the controversy or rather haunting elements in 'Less Than Zero', really came as no surprise to me. You have the usual closet case sex, the abusive drugs(this time even heroin), and the one liners that most people would love to say, but only in a parallel universe. Honestly, this book is lukewarm to say, a few pages in American Psycho? But, there's something else, something different, that's disturbing about this book, and it may not have been so apparent upon it's release...

We watch as Clay is taken back to his hometown, a very familiar hometown, the town of L.A. Everything, to him, is the same, the people are the same, the areas, and everything seems bland. In a world mixed with chaos, Clay seems so bland and bored by it. He's used to the macabre and the if only illusions of sexual deviances. It's a disgusting world, really, and yet love remains...if only to be used as a term to describe cheap, softcore pornography sex. The story is about Clay and in this story, amidst all we read about, while we stand in horror, he stands in pity and boredom.

I think what's so odd about this, is that this is the real root of social commentary by Ellis and it's only really seen today. As more and more kids today are exposed to so many things, we really face everything by the age of 18 to 20. Where sex was a major, pivotal point in a relationship, in the book, running along with today's views, sex is a thing...it's a fling. I think as you read the book in which characters are put in unbelieveable situations, one including a male whore, you really are taken back. This is disturbing, visually(moreso to those who haven't read Ellis) and theoretically, as you see how close it is to today. People and young adults primarily grow tired today of the same old, same old. Since when did growing up age so young?

While much weaker in retrospect than Ellis' previous endeavours, this is a fine novel with subtle social commentary and interesting advances into personal narrative. I suggest this, but be forewarned, you may not appreciate this and even disagree, but then again, what isn't an argument without the knowledge. Go find out for yourself, maybe you'll even read more from Ellis.

To those who have read, both this and Ellis, I hope you find this informative, to say the least.

Rating:
Summary: A trully unsettling novel. One I'll never forget.
Review: Less Than Zero tells in vivid first person a journey through the underbelly of 1980's L.A. life from the passive point of view of Clay, a young man who finds himself facing the hard truths of adulthood. The story is told in short, but journalistic flashes in the mode of music video. From page to page the story drives home the flip side of the over priveledged preppy life - too much too soon, be it money, free time, and most dangerously - drugs. It has been compared to Salinger's Catcher in the Rye and I can see the similarities. Ellis, who in college when he wrote the novel, is one of America's most loved by fans, hated by critics authors. Less Than Zero was a triumphant debut novel and one that has spellbound audiences for near two decades. Check it out. You won't soon forget it.

Rating:
Summary: Life's too short to read this book
Review: After reading so many positive reviews of this book and enjoying so many books that have been compared with this novel,I decided to read it . Upon searching everywhere I finally found this "gem of a novel".I dove into this book with enthusiasm but by the end I was more than a little disapointed .Not only were there too many insignificant characters, they were all completely flat and uninteresting .
As an avid reader I have never read a book with such a boring protaganist.With all the usual components of what i find to be a great read : glamorous , oversexed, and drugged up rich kids, somehow this book just dosen't work. Don't waste your time. If you want a similar but MUCH better read try TWELVE.